"Every Person A Swimmer, Every Person A Lifesaver"

Irish Water Safety is the statutory body established to promote water safety in Ireland. Our role is to educate people in water safety best practices. We develop public awareness campaigns to promote necessary attitudes, rescue skills and behaviour to prevent drownings and water related accidents. You can download our profile here.

Our activities include:

Teaching swimming and lifesaving courses to children and adults. Recipients build skills in swimming, water confidence, safety, survival, rescue skills and resuscitation. Participants can progress to qualify as Pool and Beach Lifeguards, there are 27 qualifications that are internationally recognized and are available to children and adults nationwide.

Lectures and demonstrations to members of the Public and other interested parties.

Publishing literature to promote water safety and target at-risk groups. Popular posters include safe boating, safe swimming, and lifejacket posters. A Cold shock/hypothermia leaflet is also available as are many other publications.

Our volunteers carry out Risk Assessments on all Bathing Areas nationwide, free of charge in order to make them safer by the erection of ring buoys, signage and other necessary action. The Local Authorities are most helpful in this regard.

We advise and assist Local Authorities on all matters relating to water safety.

The Nation's Beach Lifeguards are tested by our examiners for the local authorities, free of charge prior to the annual summer season.

A program exists in which National School teachers are coached in teaching water safety principles to their pupils.

We train all the boats crews for the Inshore Rescue Boat Service nationwide. We also train and examine the Coast Guard Inshore Rescue Boats crews.

Promoting water safety along with other members of the Marine Safety Working Group and the Irish Marine Search and Rescue Committee.

National and local media actively communicates our safety messages to the public.

We issue advice on all aspects of water safety. Press Releases are available all year round, which target the seasonal hazards on Irish waterways.

We organize the Annual National Lifesaving Championships; some of our members then go on to compete in international events each year.

We award the "JUST IN TIME" Rescue Award to rescuers nationwide; other awards recognize peoples work promoting Water Safety in Ireland.

We develop a partnership approach with private sponsors to deliver safety messages to the public.

We are providers of information on the locations of Lifeguarded beaches in Ireland.